Mum: It’s called iTunesU. It’s where you can get books and information into the phone.

Son: No, what’s it a picture of?

Mum: It’s a hat. It’s called a ‘mortar board‘. It’s what people wear when they graduate from University. It’s our Graduation Day today! There will be lots of people at my work wearing funny hats!

Son: What’s ‘Graduation Day’?

Mum: It’s a day when we celebrate that people have finished their courses.

Son: What’s a ‘course’?

Mum: It’s when people decide to learn about certain things, and gather lots of information. Then they write about what they’ve learned in books and things. And today we’re celebrating because they’ve learned what they wanted to learn to make them better at doing things. Some of them will get prizes too for doing really well at certain things.

Son: What prizes will they get?

Mum: I’m not sure.

Son: How many people is there?

Mum: I think there are about 20 in our part of the day.

Son: Well… [looks around] You can give them some of my shells from Crete. I’ll give you three and you’ll have to find something else at your work for the rest of the people.

Son: Because there’s no wristbands, medals or trophy now – they don’t do that anymore.

Mum: Why don’t they do that anymore?

Son: Because the Coach has got a boss now and he says, “Don’t give out wristbands, medals or trophies at the end because it wastes too much time!”

Mum: Oh dear. And do you think they should carry on giving them out?

Son: Yes, because it’s a good thing for children.

Mum: Why is it a good thing?

Son: Because there are people who haven’t got them yet – like James – it’s not fair for him, he hasn’t got anything – no wristband, no medal, no trophy, nothing. They don’t do any of it now, and he just REALLY wants a wristband, a medal or a trophy! What I really want from there is a wristband.

Mum: Do you try harder if there’s wristbands, medals and trophies at the end?

Son: Yes, we have to work REALLY hard if we want to get one. In the olden days when I didn’t get anything I worked SO hard and I didn’t get anything so I just gave up – I just worked normally. Until eventually I found out that I still wouldn’t get anything, so I gave up from working normally. Then one day I decided to try again and that’s when I got a medal. And then the next time I tried even more and that’s when I got the trophy.

Mum: And how did you feel when they said they weren’t going to give them out any more?

Son: It shocked me so much that I felt angry to hear the news that they didn’t give out wristbands, medals or trophies anymore and to this day, I am still a little upset. I gave up being angry though, because the more you’re angry the less things you’ll get – do you know that?

Mum: That’s true. So, do you work hard when you go to sports camp now?

Son: Now it doesn’t matter if you work hard, because they don’t give out trophies or medals anymore.